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War in the Silence
The War in the Silence was a conflict that occurred during the Divine Era. Eight years following a long drawn out lack of communication by the Ten Gods, the mortal races of Etan and Vhir were drawn into a conflict by a divine being known as the Heir. The Moment of Silence "''Some say it began with words, muffled warnings half understood, others say it began as it went on, a Silence. At the time I was but a child and had not come into my gifts, so when or how it began I cannot say, as I did not hear, or rather cease hearing, anything at all. And while I could not hear any change, I saw change, and that change frightens me to this day..." -'' the Memoirs of King Sanctus II The exact moment of the gods no longer communicating with the population of Tolas is hotly debated, as different scholars, priests and especially oracles give contradictory accounts of the time they last received messages from their god. What is known is that by the year 719LN, the known world was aware that the primary gods had sealed themselves off from their followers, offering no indication of how or why. Across the known world, priests, oracles and even those believing themselves untouched by the gods were given visions and messages that seemed to come from the gods, warning them of war, chaos and the emergence of their champions, exarchs. Soon afterwards, those who had once held connections to the gods were unable to communicate with them, the most powerful being able to travel to their gods' realms but unable to enter their inner sanctums nor find them. The Messengers In the years that followed, the world encountered the entities known as exarchs who claimed to be the vessels of the gods, seeking to gather together the true believers and defend the world against the rise of the Primordials, ancient entities who fought the gods in ancient wars long forgotten. The Musings of Mortals Almost every person in the known world who has been informed of the Silence of the Gods has met the issue with a great deal of concern and fear. Many scholars see the War as the potential tipping point, should the exarch have defeated those that opposed it then the world would have fallen to chaos as panic overthrew reason. As it stands a decade into the Silence, the states of Etan and Vhir have remained stable thanks to strong leadership and a willingness to cooperate. The Breaking of the Silence As of 9DE, the Silence of the Gods had ended with the arrival of the gods Umbarnir and Elendei. Fear and doubt have so far fanned the fires of both exarch and Primordial recruitment, with those choosing the former seeing these divines as the new gods and the latter believing themselves abandoned by all gods. The New Will ''"I have betrayed you. Believe me that I take no joy in this. As you I am bound in secrecy but suffice to say the promises made and threats leveled were too much for me to overlook." - ''Franzik Futherwald in letter to the remaining nobles who opposed the exarch making war upon their kingdoms. Through a military coup, an exarch seized political control over the city of G'yass in the year 8DE, beginning the actual War in the Silence. The sirithi's Fourteen Sons falling to the swords of the followers of the exarch in the city, how long the entity had been present in the city planning this is unknown, though many believe for it to have been working since the gods ceased communicating. The exarch made no outward declaration of war, preferring instead to mobilise its forces which it built up rapidly using its magicks to reforge the rabble of the city into one of the most coordinated armies in the world. Soon after conquering the sirithi, the exarch gained the allegiance of the warrior peoples of Rock-Harbour, opening up the war on two fronts. The Tears on the Sands The exarch's first target was the ancient civilisation of the Zelfolk, marching its forces across the hundreds of miles of desert to the city of Zel'bidaal who had received promises of an alliance by a number of Etanian and Vhirian nobles on the condition that they meet the forces of the exarch in combat, using the advantage of desert warfare against the largely naval power. This however proved to be an underestimation of the abilities of the exarch who was able to overwhelm the unfathomably old tactics of the Zelfolk and hold the capital city for ransom, many of the thousands of Zelfolk abandoning the city for the safety of the Dragon Lands. Containing the Storm Around the same time as the lands of the Zelfolk were being invaded, the Falkanah Plains were sacked by the goblinoids of the south of Etan. The Storm Giants that dwelt there were scattered or enslaved, collars placed around their necks to force their cooperation in use as shock troops. The central keep of the region was used as a base to maintain control over the region, being occupied by the Rendcoat Clan. The keep was later retaken by a combined force of Grostere resistance and Ribripper goblins, the Rendcoat chief being slain by a noble of Zafra in single combat, forcing the clan to surrender. The Lord of Dragon Lands, Kepeski was also captured around this time, having disappeared months earlier, the exarch working through a group of zealot dragon hunters. The ancient blue dragon was tortured by the zealots and the exarch's forces who sought to compel the dragon into joining their cause. Kepeski was said to have been slain during the rescue attempted launched by House Iragar, though all other witnesses were killed to the last, and no body being shown, meaning the world only has their word as evidence. The Poison of Doubt A pivotal moment in the War was the outbreak of Civil War in the Kingdom of Grostere, where the exarch had used the Silence to play on the fears of the then king, Solrei IV, to place an agent in his court to advise him on what seemed to be the will of the gods, a crucial aspect of Grostere society as a whole. The country was divided into those loyal to Solrei and the exarch, and those that saw this as a usurpation of Grostere's sovereignty lead by the King's son and heir, Dafin Grost, crowned by the forces of 'True Grostere' as Sanctus II. The Shadow Over Sadrith The city of Sadrith came to the notice of the exarch due to the actions of a number of nobles who lead the forces allied against him, one of whom was a member of the leading noble house of the region. Brigands, thugs and mercenaries were hired to sack the city, burning and looting in a surprise attack that left the city greatly damaged, the assault not being put down until the defeat of the exarch. The First to Fall "''Heir, Usurper, Menace, Conqueror, Speaker for the Gods. The creature that caused all this suffering deserves no such titles, no names of reverence, honour or even fear. I name him The First To Fall, and let that be a message to all those who would seek to put a shackle upon us." ''- An extract of a speech made by Duke Randalhost following his return to Hoffendale. The War in the Silence ended when the remaining three nobles and a paladin of Grostere slew the exarch in his own domain utilising an ancient artefact that corrupted its wielder to defy the gods at every moment. While the decisive moment of the conflict took place in the city of G'yass in the fortress the exarch had constructed, there were a number of major battles that took place at the same time. The Wrath of Dragons The forces of the exarch launched an attack on the Dragon Lands surrounding Okarthel during the final days of the War. At first the forces were allowed to march into the lands until the last of them entered the region, passing through the Rock Maze in the south utilising guidance from the exarch to navigate it. Once the last of soldiers took their first steps into the territory, dragons, drakes and all manner of dragonkin launched assaults upon the lines of sirithi, who kept their nerve as they approached the city of Okarthel where they awaited the message from the exarch who was about to begin the fight against the noblemen leaders of the resistance. These battle began in tandem with the exarch's, the two forces clashing as the city of Okarthel emptied, over a million dragonborn and kobolds taking up arms to repel the attackers who crumbled under the ferocity of the city, their exarch's death sealing their fate. As the sirithi were routed the dragonborn entrapped them by deploying forces to their rear via the coast. The survivors were scattered to the Dragon Lands where they became prey for the rogue dragons and monsters that dwell there. The Long March The forces of Hoffendale, who had been marching for many months, arrived in Grostere to be met by the goblin forces of the exarch who teleported in using blood magic and sacrifice. The men of Hoff valiantly defeated the goblins, the death of their exarch being the final blow that broke the goblins' resolved. King Osgarth recalled his forces who sought to slaughter the goblins, knowing that the palace at Manse was far more important to secure than a few fleeing goblins. The Breaking of the Body Those remaining in city of Zel'bidaal, many of whom were actually the elite warriors known as the Faceless pretending to be trapped civilians, quickly revolted once they saw the exarch under attack. Those Magistrates who did not swear loyalty to the exarch joined in, leading rebel pockets against the occupiers. Though at first the highly coordinated forces of the exarch took up positions around the city to quell the rebellion, only for the death of the exarch to leave them bambozzled as to how to fight the Zelfolk who appeared out of the very sands beneath their feet, slaughtering them and enslaving the rest. Those Magistrates who did swear loyalty to the exarch were marked as traitors, their bodies rendered useless by mutilation and their souls tethered to the husks that was their flesh. The Restoring of the Soul The death of the exarch lead to a number of those who oppose him in secret to suddenly act against his agents such as in the Court of the Sun of Grostere, where the advisor the exarch had placed dueled the Court Wizard until he was forced to take flight. The King pulled back his forces who were about to fight the Hoffendale invaders and accepted King Osgarth's terms. Aftermath The War in the Silence ended with the death of the exarch, his forces being destroyed by the vengeful races of Vhir and Etan or scattered to the winds. The various states who were victorious in the conflict consolidated and restored order to their borders, though many states were affected by the war even if they did not fight directly. G'yass The Zels The Dragon Lands The Nerevic Empire The Empire of Quel'Doran The Goblin Homelands The Falkanah Plains The Noble States The Kingdom of Grostere The Free Cities of the Lake The Three Dwarf Kingdoms Thoruum Menrek Stracaralome Hoffendale The War in the Silence has prompted the Hoffendale to militarise for the first time in ten generations. Shaken by the unprecedented speed at which the war escalated and following the urging of Duke Randalhost, King Osgarth has begun readying the armies of Hoffendale for military action. Likely the most pivotal change brought on by the war was the breakdown in relations between Hoffendale and Grostere. King Osgarth denounced Grostere after King Solrei IV sided with the heir, outraged that the alliance between the two kingdoms could be forsaken so quickly by their once friends. In the aftermath, Osgarth has refused to engage in talks with Grostere and chose not to support the resettlement of Foothold as laid out in the Treaty of Manse. Duke Randalhost has attempted to sway the mind of his king, reassuring him that King Sanctus II is a wise and capable ruler but to no avail. Sang Telinor Foothold Category:In-World Concepts